How Far Are Philadelphia Phillies From Being A Playoff Team?

By Rebekah Milsted

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Today is the fifth-year anniversary of Game 1 of the 2008 World Series which the Philadelphia Phillieswon, making the city of Philadelphia go crazy. It brings back a lot of memories: from the rain delayed game, the parade down Broad Street, etc.

It brings up the question: are the Phillies close to bringing another World Series back to Philadelphia?

The Phillies failed to make the playoffs for the second year in a row in 2013. They finished with a losing record for the first time since 2002. Right now, it seems they have a lot of work to do before they can even think of the postseason.

This offseason, they need to focus on rebuilding. There are a lot of holes that they need to fill. There is that question of who will play third base as the front office still does not believe Cody Asche has the experience to play. Right field is a question for the second season in a row as well. They need to find someone with offensive upside who can also play the field.

Speaking of offense, the Phillies need to figure that out if they want to make the playoffs. They barely scored any runs this past season. The players did not seem to see the ball. They had the 10th-ranked batting average in the NL along with the 11th-ranked slugging percentage. The offense used to be stronger than this. It has to be built up again.

There are many holes and questions that have to be answered. This makes me believe that the Phillies are still far off from making the postseason unless drastic changes are made this coming winter. You can’t just go from playing poorly to being the best, which is what the Phillies will basically have to do. The fans will have to continue to be patient as the front office will figure out what works best for the team in this rebuilding period.

Hopefully the Phillies will be able to make the playoffs sooner rather than later and make the city of Philadelphia happy again.